The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1887-03-31
WHOLE NUMBER 1870.

u
purse cannot afford this, see that at
least the silver is shining, the coffee
pot bright, and the table has M air OF
warmth and comfort. An aid to this
is 4 red tablecloth in winter; Lut be
sure that it is clean and spotless. DO
not allow it to be left OH the table be-
tween meals. but substitute different
one for this purpose.
INSECTS ON VINES.
A correspondent OF the American
says with reference to in
sects on vines: On q trial last year
with a field Of melons we found 4 few
handsf loftobacco stems. cut small in
fodder cutter. and scattered around the
hill and under the vines, effected COM
plcte exemption from attacks by the
various insects which injure melons.
sq,ashes and cucumbers. The squash
vine borer even, took dislike to the
tobacco, and gave no trouble. The rain
washes some of soluble parts of the
tobacco into the ground, and SO protects
the roots from the small larvR of the
striped beetle, which cause the vines to
wilt. II. rs it is supposed. insects find
their food BY tho sense Of smell. the
overpowering oder Of the tobacco ac-
counts for its preservati We effect.
In adiscussion on ..Grape Culture" ut
4 recent meeting Of farmers in Boston.
one Of the speakers said. The insect
~ hich has +rn,,l,lnl 80, ,.,c.o xl~.. c..-
thing else has been the rose bug. And
the only remedy have tried has been
hand picking. For the last two years
they have troubled me very little. l
hayespent very little time picking them.
but years before that I frequently had
two and three men and sometimes four
men picking them all the morning. be-
cause they must be taken in the morn
ing. before it gets warm. for number,
Of days. Ny practice generally has
been to take tin pail, or some vessel
and pick them into it. 60 along the
vines. holding the pail under them. and
shaking the vines, they will drop OF into
the pail. But they must 30 txkvii before before
il is too warm. That is the only way
have found Of destroying them. Its
laborious way. but it must be done. be-
cause few of these insects in field
will destroy a great many grapes. and
it is best to take them before they attack
the blossoms, and before they attack the
leaves.
MORALS OF THE FARM.
If one sees y hotched job Of carpen-
try. a poor piece Of blacksmithing, or
other specimen of defective handicraft.
the thing most prominently suggested
in his mind is the worthlessness Of the
mechanic who did the work. So it is
with farming. A man riding along a
country road and looking ut the farms
that lie along on each side will inyolun-
tarily draw conclusions as TO the cnar-
acters of their owners. from the appear
ancc that each presents. If farm is
well fcnced and looks trim and clean,
cleared of briars and weeds. we'll drained
aud we'll titled, it takes no effort to pic
ture man, bustling. active. shrewd
and energetic, square in his dealings,
and systematic in his work,
with his farm paid for and money in
bank. Nor is that all; it is easy to 60
on with the picture. One will expect
to find the household Of such man Us
well ordered as his farm; wife who is
Il thrifty, busy housekcepcr. and chill
dren who are obedient. intelligent and
industrious. who stand at the head of
their classes. and who, when they ar
rive ut years of maturity, will not be
found loating III disreputable places,
but following in the footsteps Of their
father.
FEEDING HORSES.
The ordinary system Of feeding horses,
says the Stockman,i is. to say the least, a
very careless one. There are tons Of
hay wasted in the manger. 1t is SO easy
to feed hay that too many throw it to
the horse with perfect recklessness.
Good hay is \ meritorious feed but hay is
4 very bulky food, and the danger in
feeding it to excess is that
too much of the food element
is supplied. We canno: founder
Il horse on hay. But we can fill him
with SO much indigestible woody fibre,
and because of the indigestibility Of the
woody fibre, create such quantities of
gas in the stomach and bowels that the
effect is positively injurious.
A WOMAN WHO HAS WON HER WAY.
Albany Journal: Miss Mary Booth is
said to be going abroad for rest. and
one of the papers, in commenting upon
it, calls her 1.-THE septuagcnarian editor
of Harper's Fashion Weekly" Miss
Booth is no longer young, but I doubt
if she is 60. and she is well preserved
of her age. retains her thick. gray hair.
strong, sound teeth. and her erect fig
ure. Every M ,rning early. that Is early
for i journalist say 10 o. clock or there
abonts-she arrives at the little den
where her work is done in the Franklin
Square Building. and is steadily at her
desk until 4. She seems TO have no
assistants, For twenty-five years she
has been the .translator in ordinary
tor the Harpers, and for twelve years
the editor of the Bazaar.
FARM ACCOUNTS.
The habit of keeping farm accounts
will help man to acquire informa-
ton which he can acquire in no other
way. He stands on his feet when he
knows for himself what every product
he markets costs him. and therefore
its real value. because he knows wheth-
er it pays him to 60 on producing q
certain crop, and what part of his farm
is better adapted to it than another.
This.again, leads directly to an increas-
ed production. for the plain reason
that it proceeds accordingto tho accept
ed laws of economy.
SEED TEST.
A good way to find out whether
seeds will sprout, is to fill a gallon crock
nearly full of mellow soil and cover
with one end of a piece of muslin twice